Christmas in July….or Was it? Our Cleveland, OH Trip

~ Christmas Trip in July Recap | Wanderlust | Personal ~

Recap of the Weekend | Cleveland, Ohio & Euclid, Ohio | July 22 – 24, 2022

Christmas 2021, Michael and I decided we didn’t want more stuff. We would rather spend time together than spend money on stuff. We decided Arielle was getting the toys to open and we would surprise each other with family weekend getaways. We wrote all the months on pieces of paper, threw them in a hat and did a blind draw. And we weren’t allowed to tell each other ANYTHING until Christmas Morning!

The Rules:

1. Keep It A Secret til Christmas Morning
2. Must be a Weekend Trip
3. No More Than 8 Hours Away
4. Any Type of Lodging is Okay
5. No Transportation is Off Limits
6. You Plan the Excursions Too

I got July! And I knew EXACTLY where we were going. I had been wanting to take Michael to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since we started dating in 2013. We never went, so I took this as an opportunity to finally go. We my not look like it now, but in High School both of us LOVED Classic Rock, Heavy Metal and Punk Rock. So a lot of our favorite artists growing up have been inducted into there. I also did some research to see what Family fun activities we could do. I decided the Greater Cleveland Aquarium was a good choice for Arielle because they had a shark tube, and much like her mama, she loves sharks. I booked us a swanky room at a Tru by Hilton. I was going to bring my camera, and everything was going to be great.

Until it wasn’t.

Halfway up to Cleveland Arielle and I had started coughing and had runny noses. We had COVID a few weeks prior so we thought maybe it was allergies this time. We gave her Tylenol; powered through the drive up and got to the hotel Friday night. We woke up Saturday, Arielle and I were not feeling well but still excited for the day. So Michael went to a Pharmacy and got some meds for us both. And we went on to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. The meds definitely helped us both a little bit! The Rock Hall was SO MUCH fun! We played guitars, listened to Songstress Jo, casted our votes for next years inductees, saw tons of memorabilia items from lots of our favorite artists.

But, that night Arielle was sleeping and was having some labored breathing and then woke up crying in a panic. She was inconsolable and was at the point where the more upset she got the worse her coughing and breathing got. We rushed her to the University Hospital Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital. Arielle had Croup. But, they gave her everything she needed. After the meds kicked in you could tell she was immediately feeling better. The entire staff there was so sweet and it was a fairly quick ER visit. They told us to give her all the meds they prescribed and she would be okay to continue on her vacation.

After the chaotic night we had, we decided to sleep in a little on Sunday. We had tickets for the Aquarium and headed there after we checked out of the hotel. We had SO MUCH fun at the Greater Cleveland Aquarium. Arielle kept singing Baby Shark all through the Shark Tube! Despite feeling crummy we all had a good time. After the Aquarium we drove around the city for a little bit to sight see and get some photos. Then we hit Wahlburgers for lunch. This was a MUST STOP for Michael, he loves Mark Wahlberg movies.

The ride home was the worst of it all though honestly. We were all OVER the car and each other. Seeing the house when we pulled up was the best thing ever. We all were. Arielle gave me Croup too so by the time we got home, I was coughing and wheezing as bad as she was the night prior. There were times where I wanted to sleep but couldn’t because I was wheezing or I had to pick between eating/drinking or breathing. I could only imagine how Arielle felt. And poor Michael had to take care of and honestly, deal with the both of us being sick, irritable and grouchy.

Don’t get us wrong though, we had A LOT of fun. I would love to come back one day and explore more of the city and maybe redo the RRHOF and the Aquarium too. Michael’s Christmas Trip is coming this October! I cannot wait to see what he has in store for us!!!